SIR process focussed on exclusion, has played havoc with democracy: former CEC Quraishi
Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi has hit out at the Election Commission over the ongoing SIR exercise, saying the process is focussed more on "exclusion"
Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi has hit out at the Election Commission over the ongoing SIR exercise, saying the process is focussed more on "exclusion" and has "played havoc with democracy" with free and fair elections having been "disturbed". The emphasis in the ongoing SIR process is on how many to exclude as if the EC would get good marks for "throwing out" as many as it can, Mr. Quraishi said in an exclusive interview with PTI Videos ahead of the launch of his new book 'India and I: A Hundred Memories, Not a Memoir'. The book, published by Hachette India, throws light on 100 episodes from Quraishi's life. Quraishi told PTI that being registered as a voter is a constitutional right but a situation is being created that it is a favour granted to people by the Election Commission. The ongoing process of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is "unfair" because of the way this is being done, he said. The process is focusing more on "exclusion", Mr. Quraishi said. "How many people can you throw out of the electoral roll, that seems to be the focus," he said. "Whereas in our time it was a very clear policy — our instruction to the polling staff used to be that if somebody comes introducing himself or herself and there was some minor error in the spelling, age or address or something, but you know that the person is the right person, ignore all mistakes. So that no voter is excluded," Mr. Quraishi asserted. Here the emphasis is on how many to exclude as if they would get good marks for "throwing out" as many as they can and crores have been "thrown out", Mr. Quraishi said, slamming the Commission.
"It has really played havoc with democracy, free and fair elections have been disturbed and that is something the nation should be concerned about and it is, which is why this controversy is there," Mr. Quraishi, who was the chief election commissioner (CEC) from July 30, 2010 till June 10, 2012, said. "We were not fools. We were also purifying the electoral roll as per our constitutional mandate and were doing it every year. In 2002-2003, in Bihar, after the last intensive revision, the decision was taken that the intensive revision is no longer necessary because the rolls have been computerised.” "Now if your name is there and 99% names are already there and then I go to a home and start finding from scratch who lived in that house, that is foolish," he said. Therefore, Mr. Quraishi said the decision was taken that there will only be a summary revision. It means officials go to a person's house, show the electoral roll, show the voters' names, ages and if everything is fine they move on to the next house, he said. "If not, if some voter has been added, the BLO will give you a form, form six, fill up the form and within seven days it will get added. Or if you need to delete somebody who has moved or somebody has died, you will fill form seven," Mr. Quraishi said. All this was all done on the spot, with the result that 99% roll had become perfect as a result of the annual exercise, Mr. Quraishi pointed out. "The same BLO who is coming to your house now creating difficulties for you, used to come and just check with you.
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